Our industry is engaged in an important dialogue to improve the efficiency and resilience of real assets through transparency and industry collaboration. This guest article contributes to that conversation and does not necessarily reflect GRESB’s views or position, nor does it represent an endorsement. The GRESB Insights blog is designed to share diverse industry perspectives and foster informed discussion on key topics for real assets investments.
As the AI revolution accelerates, data centers are grappling with unprecedented demand for capacity and mounting sustainability pressures. One thing is clear: the call for integrated solutions spanning energy, siting, community engagement, and corporate strategy has never been louder.
The local sustainability challenge
While data centers are essential to our growing digital economy, the surge in demand is creating immense pressure especially at the local level. A recent national poll found that just 44% of Americans would welcome a data center being built near their residence, with 42% opposed[1]. Meanwhile, communities, primarily in populated East Coast regions,[2] are increasingly scrutinizing or even pausing proposals citing concerns around water, land use, energy demand and surging prices, noise, and local infrastructure impact[3].
As a result, developers face a dual imperative: they must not only supply the necessary infrastructure for AI expansion, but also do so with the interests of communities, local governments, and the environment in mind.
Reframing the challenge as opportunity
Rather than treating community relations as an after-thought, data centers have a powerful opportunity to build community trust and local value. Investments in this infrastructure can offer significant economic benefits at the state and local level through collected tax revenue and job creation. The state of Virginia, for instance, generated roughly USD31 billion in economic output in 2023 from data center construction and operations[4]. Data centers can also bring ecosystem co-benefits, grid services, and even free lifelong district heating from recovered waste heat. By proactively communicating and delivering these tangible local benefits, developers can turn skepticism into support.
A 2025 survey by Clayco of over a 1,000 US adults found that 73% would support a nearby data center if it guaranteed benefits such as local jobs, community reinvestment, and tax relief[5]. Thus, early, transparent engagement matters and the conversation should emphasize concrete outcomes.
Make site identification smoother and permitting faster by integrating sustainability in the decision making
Selecting the “right” place for a data center can be challenging, but it can benefit from incorporating sustainability criteria such as:
- Power first: Talk to utilities early, get real queue timelines, and line up a clean energy pathway (PPA/VPPAs, RECs) so the site isn’t waiting on interconnection.
- Biodiversity plan: Conduct a habitat screening, map off-limit areas, and create a measurable restoration plan before starting construction.
- Community trust: Meet with local leaders and present a clear benefits package (jobs, training, tax transparency, etc.) to secure community license to operate.
- Permitting playbook: Research local permitting rules and regulations in order to prepare for key reporting and compliance deadlines ahead of time.
Integrated sustainability solutions
Given the scale and complexity of data center growth in the AI era, an integrated strategy combining the following elements is increasing important:
- Renewable energy procurement: Align power supply with clean energy goals while maintaining availability and reliability. One innovative concept called “Power Couples” suggests pairing large electricity consumers (such as data centers) with new-build renewable projects located near existing gas-fired generators with established grid interconnections. This approach delivers on sustainability targets while avoiding the costly delays and grid upgrades that traditional large-load growth projects often face[6].
- Energy efficiency and green engineering: From IT load design to cooling systems, build in best-practice sustainability from day one.
- Stakeholder and community engagement: Communicate benefits early and address local concerns proactively.
- Public-private collaboration and ecosystem building: Work with local governments, utilities, community groups, and NGOs to build supportive frameworks and avoid future risk.
The goal is to create an “ecosystem of support” so that data centers can scale without the risk of being locked in higher-cost or lower-integrity practices in the future.
SeaBridge provides integrated data center sustainability research, advisory, and AI-enabled software tools to help data center developers and operators build responsible AI infrastructure. Our work spans the full project lifecycle – from site selection and community consultation to sustainability storytelling, roadmapping, retrofit design, energy procurement, and reporting to frameworks such as the upcoming GRESB Data Center Assessment.
Moving forward: Responsible growth in the AI era
References
[1] Zeitlin, M. (2025, September 11). Heatmap poll: Only 44% of Americans Would Welcome a Data Center Nearby. Heatmap News. https://heatmap.news/politics/data-center-survey
[2] Kramer, B. (2025, October 2). Data Centers Confront Local Opposition across America. MultiState. https://www.multistate.us/insider/2025/10/2/data-centers-confront-local-opposition-across-america
[3] Tozzi, C. (2024, June 13). Why Communities Are Protesting Data Centers – And How the Industry Can Respond. Data Center Knowledge. https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-construction/why-communities-are-protesting-data-centers-and-how-the-industry-can-respond
[4] Barth, A., Arora, C., Shenai, G., Noffsinger, J., & Sachdeva, P. (2025, August 8). The data center balance: How US states can navigate the opportunities and challenges. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/the-data-center-balance-how-us-states-can-navigate-the-opportunities-and-challenges
[5] Clayco (2025). Clayco Survey Finds Americans Are Open to Data Centers — With Benefits. Clayco. https://claycorp.com/americans-are-open-to-data-centers-with-benefits
[6] Engel, A., Varadarajan, U., & Posner, D. (2025, February 20). How “Power Couples” Can Help the United States Win the Global AI Race. RMI. https://rmi.org/how-power-couples-can-help-the-united-states-win-the-global-ai-race/
This article was written by Petya Miteva, Head of Tech and Data Center Sustainability at SeaBridge and Greta Jennings, Sustainability Analyst – Tech and Data Centers at SeaBridge.